China's CPI up 1.5 pct in October

People select vegetables at a market in Chongqing, southwest China, Nov. 10, 2021. China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 1.5 percent year on year in October, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Wednesday. (Xinhua/Wang Quanchao)

BEIJING, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 1.5 percent year on year in October, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Wednesday.

The figure was higher than the 0.7 percent year-on-year growth recorded in September.

Specifically, non-food prices rose 2.4 percent from a year earlier, contributing about 1.97 percentage points to the CPI growth, said senior NBS statistician Dong Lijuan.

Food prices dropped 2.4 percent, with the price of pork, a staple meat in China, slumping 44 percent. However, the price of fresh vegetables, which declined 2.5 percent in September, saw a 15.9 percent increase last month, said Dong.

The country's producer price index, which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, went up 13.5 percent year on year in October, according to the NBS.

China has set its consumer inflation target at approximately 3 percent for the year 2021, according to this year's government work report. Enditem

A citizen shops at a market in Chongqing, southwest China, Nov. 10, 2021. China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 1.5 percent year on year in October, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Wednesday. (Xinhua/Wang Quanchao)

People select vegetables at a market in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Nov. 10, 2021. China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 1.5 percent year on year in October, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Wednesday. (Xinhua/Lu Boan)

A vendor arranges vegetables at a market in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Nov. 10, 2021. China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 1.5 percent year on year in October, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Wednesday. (Xinhua/Lu Boan)